Chapter 3 - The Inner Circle
The reality of Dominic's words hung heavily in the freezing kitchen air.
Someone within his own family had orchestrated the assassination attempt on little Ethan.
Marcus, the head of security, stepped forward with a deep scowl on his scarred face.
"Boss, if one of your cousins did this, we need to lock down the family wing immediately," Marcus suggested.
Dominic shook his head, his eyes burning with a dark, dangerous fire.
"No one knows that Lily can identify the killer yet," he murmured thoughtfully.
He turned to look at me, and I felt a sudden jolt of electricity under his intense gaze.
"I need you to take Lily and Ethan to my private study on the third floor," Dominic ordered.
The third floor was the most secure area of the entire Westchester estate, complete with bulletproof glass and reinforced steel doors.
I nodded quickly, scooping Lily into my arms and following Dominic back to the ballroom.
Ethan was sitting quietly, still pale but breathing normally thanks to his medication.
Dominic lifted his son with tender care, a stark contrast to the ruthless mafia boss he was known to be.
We rushed up the grand staircase while armed guards secured every landing behind us.
Once we were safely inside the luxurious study, the heavy titanium door locked with a satisfying click.
Dominic walked over to his massive oak desk and turned on the security monitor.
"I want to see exactly who entered the kitchen during the fifteen minutes you were upstairs, Nora," he said to me.
I watched over his broad shoulder as he pulled up the encrypted camera feeds.
He clicked on the camera labeled 'Cold Room Corridor'.
The screen flickered for a brief second before displaying a continuous loop of an empty hallway.
Dominic typed rapidly on his keyboard, pulling up the system diagnostics.
"The footage from the last hour has been completely wiped and replaced with a static loop," he growled in frustration.
Marcus spoke up through the two-way radio on Dominic's desk.
"Sir, the server log shows the deletion command came from inside the house," Marcus reported over the static.
Dominic asked Marcus exactly which terminal was used to execute the hack.
"It came from your private study, Boss," Marcus replied.
I gasped and took a terrified step back from the computer desk.
Someone had been inside this very room while we were downstairs.
Dominic pulled his gun out again and aimed it directly at the heavy velvet curtains draped across the far wall.
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"Show yourself right now, or I start shooting," Dominic yelled.
The curtains shifted, and a pair of polished leather shoes stepped out from the shadows.
